You know, what's the big deal about farmers' markets... I go there and can never find any Farmers to buy.
O.K., I know that is not what Farmers' Market means. But I always wanted to use that line in a post. Cheap attempt at humor. So sue me.
Anyway a sure sign of spring, the Burien Farmers' Market opens today!!! Just in time , I am down to my last bar of handmade soap! And boy I need pasta! (I hope the pasta ladies are back... their chocolate pasta makes the best dessert with a little raspberry or blackberry jam mixed in) And it will be great to see all my favorite vendors for another season of local bargains galore! Romeo will have new places to mooch, get to see his buddies, and I will be overindulging on Czech pastries and corn on the cob!
A "repost" from November of last year: (hey if T.V. Networks can do ReRuns, why not the rest of the world?)
Y'all know I celebrate my Norwegian heritage when making something for holiday dinners- this year I made Krumkake- a Norwegian/Scandinavian cookie that is baked on a krumkake iron and rolled like an ice cream cone. This year with a little difference- all my ingredients, except sugar, are local- the wheat for the flour is from Winthrop, about 190 miles east of here (that is stretching the 100 mile diet a tad bit) the eggs are from Yelm- about 60 miles to the south, the creme is from Kent, about 15 miles south of here. That's pretty much it, minus the sugar. I used my favorite recipe to make them, one from my mom's hometown of Edmore, ND, as it is the only one that doesn't call for butter or oil. The flour made a thicker batter than I am use to, but that's all right. I also made a cranberry-creme cheese dip- I made my own creme cheese following Ms. Chicken's Instructions as found in Mother Earth News
Then I make a fresh cranberry sauce (okay, I know cranberries aren't necessarily local- we do have cranberry bogs in Washington out by the ocean) Anyway I made a cranberry sauce following this recipe:
The I simply blend about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of Cream Cheese (I use the food processor for this). Rechill. Then I top it with the remaining cranberry sauce, or about 1/4 cup of sauce and rechill- serve with crakers. I am using locally made Oat biscuits from EAT LOCAL . Very tasty slightly sweet dip with a bit of twang! Combine that with local cheeses and crackers, that is how I am celebrating the local thanksgiving!
The new butter Dish, chip/veggie dip platter and a Scent Heart I picked up at this Winter's Pottery Sale
Just a pic of the booty I got at this winters Moshier Art Center Holiday Pottery Sale. We are so lucky to have a neat pottery center here in Burien, and they have great sales twice a year, as well as holding the "Empty Bowls" event every year. Even though I had to work today, I made time to get to this sale! I am so lucky to live in a city were art is important.
I have found it. And it is Good. My Eat Local store now stocks Woodring Agave Chocolate sauce. Chocolate a diabetic can use!!! Better than bitter sugar free Hershey's syrup, I made some fake crepes and used it in place of Nutella. Sniff, at last. You need to warm it first for ice cream, but it is so good. Rich and Fudge-like, great stuff. The gal at Eat Local told me they use it as chocolate syrup for espresso at their Queen Anne store! The Nelson family has been making great preserves, marmalades, chutneys and pickles for 40 years and just recently added their Agave sweet line of Chocolate Sauce , Apple Butter , Marionberry Fruit Spread , Pumpkin Butter And Red Raspberry Fruit Spread All sweetened with agave nectar! They also sell regular sweetened products as well. Read more about Agave Nectar here.
Endorsement Disclaimer- Woodring Northwest did not pay me for this endorsement, and while I would welcome samples I bought my own. I use this product and believe in it.
Saturday I attended the 20/20 Vision Art Sale benefitting Burien Arts. There were a lot of great pieces there for sale, all donated by great local artists. I bought three pieces:
This photo by Jayme Schlias will look great in my kitchen This piece by Joey Bates will look great in the living room
"Time and Direction" By John Unbehend
A great piece on wood. I think this will go in the study
I always like discovering new 2nd use type stores. I was strolling through Burien during the Oktoberfest and found a new used Bookstore- Bumbershoot Books. Really nice little store, LOL I bought 2 cookbooks- one on the George Foreman grills I own, and one on Norwegian Cooking, called Eat the Norway.
Summertime and the eatin' is easy when you can graze your way through the stacks of fresh produce now available in grocery stores, at farmers' markets and, if you are fortunate, at nearby roadside stands. Did you know that June is National Fruit and Vegetable month? Me neither. And, just in time, the federal government has issued new dietary guidelines for Americans to follow in selecting foods that promote good health. Not surprisingly, the fifth edition of the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" emphasizes a balanced, moderate diet that includes a variety of food choices, particularly grains, fruits and vegetables. For more information on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, visit www.usda.gov/cnpp/. According to the American Dietetic Association (ADA), more Americans than ever -- 28 percent -- are adjusting their eating habits to achieve healthier lifestyles. The ADA national public opinion survey, Nutrition and You: Trends 2000 reported 84 percent of those polled said diet and nutrition are personally important to them. More information on the survey is available at www.eatright.org/ . Fun information for kids and teachers about the National 5 a Day for Better Health program is available at 5aday.com
After waiting all winter, the Burien Farmers' Market opened today. I feel like spring has sprung and we have all climbed out of our coccoons. It help that the weather was sunny and spring like as well.
Romeo and I perused the market and bought some handmade soap, some leeks and some tomato plants and some homemade fudge.
We also had lunch there. A BBQ hot dog and chips. Who could ask for more?
I go to Burien Bark Supply to supplement my meager compost when building new beds. They can be very good. You can get Bark, compost, soil and mixed soil and gravel there. In a bag, if you don't want to mess up your car, loose if you have a truck or trailer, or delivered if you want a mountain of dirt in your driveway. This time I bought plastic bags of garden mix soil. Bags? Yes- It is easier for me to haul/lug the bags to the garden beds, then I save the bags for reuse. Most times, however, I would normally get 1/2 yard loaded into the pick up. When I order the gravel for the front yard, I will choose delivery. It's more economical to have them deliver 3 yards of gravel than me picking up 1/2 yard, making 6a trips, and easier too, They just back up the dump truck and dump their load, leaving me the wheelbarrow and shovel part of the job. Anyway- it has been fun over my life to watch this family run business grow. When I was little, they ran out of a small trailer with the huge piles of bark all around. Today they run out of the basement of a strip mall they built and manage. And the cool thing about them they always are ready to donate to community gardens, helping others grow too.
What a neat thing to see when you go to the Ace Hardware. These flowers where grown in a large greenhouse operation in Burien. I had forgotten about it- just a few blocks away from my Grandparents house. Nice to see Ace get on the local bandwagon, They could have just sold the flowers grown by the mega greenhouses, like 99.9% of local hardware stores, but chose to buy local. Of course I had to buy some, for my Guerrilla Garden project, and also for my garden.Did you know Pansies are edible flowers? Melinda's Blog has a great post today on buying locally.
Okay- I didn't mean to do it. I cannot resist small independent book stores. Especially ones with little old lady proprietors. With British Accents. But I digress. I was happily avoiding Black Friday and all it's consumeristic faults and had determined not to join in the bloodbath. But as I was walking with Romeo down (or rather up) 152nd AKA Main Street in Burien, I spotted a cookbook in the window of Burien Books that someone would want for Christmas. The owner of the bookstore is this charming, older British lady and while there was no Bookstore cat (that I could see). I was checking out and the proprietress looked out the window at my four pawed friend and said, "You know, dear, we are dog friendly in this store and he could have come inside". Well that sold me right then and there- I thought this is a display of anti-consumerism in the truest form- saying NO to the big box, corporate book stores and purchasing from an independent local seller. So while I sinned, a small bit, I also supported a local independent book seller. I don't feel so bad. And I didn't have to get up at 3:00 am either!
Y'all know I celebrate my Norwegian heritage when making something for holiday dinners- this year I made Krumkake- a Norwegian/Scandinavian cookie that is baked on a krumkake iron and rolled like an ice cream cone. This year with a little difference- all my ingredients, except sugar, are local- the wheat for the flour is from Winthrop, about 190 miles east of here (that is stretching the 100 mile diet a tad bit) the eggs are from Yelm- about 60 miles to the south, the creme is from Kent, about 15 miles south of here. That's pretty much it, minus the sugar. I used my favorite recipe to make them, one from my mom's hometown of Edmore, ND, as it is the only one that doesn't call for butter or oil. The flour made a thicker batter than I am use to, but that's all right. I also made a cranberry-creme cheese dip- I made my own creme cheese following Ms. Chicken's Instructions as found in Mother Earth News
Then I make a fresh cranberry sauce (okay, I know cranberries aren't necessarily local- we do have cranberry bogs in Washington out by the ocean) Anyway I made a cranberry sauce following this recipe:
The I simply blend about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of Cream Cheese (I use the food processor for this). Rechill. Then I top it with the remaining cranberry sauce, or about 1/4 cup of sauce and rechill- serve with crakers. I am using locally made Oat biscuits from EAT LOCAL . Very tasty slightly sweet dip with a bit of twang! Combine that with local cheeses and crackers, that is how I am celebrating the local thanksgiving!
The Burien branch of Buy Local is now open at 810 SW 151st. Very cool store. The sell premade frozen meals made on the premise and from local ingredients. I bought the "Coq Au Vin" for dinner tonight, along with some local Apple Cider to make some of Abbie's Apple Cider jelly. They also sell their items in reusable glass containers- You simply make a deposit, like glass milk bottles, and return it. Larger Items some in a foil pan with a cardboard top, smaller ones like 1 serving items come in the plastic tray, unfortunately*. Speaking of milk, they sell milk in glass bottles, And as I pointed out to the owner he should play that up as no supermarket in the Burien area does- although I think I will stick with my Milk Man, as it took so long to find him. Anyway take out you cook at home, sustainably packed. They also have local meats and plan on adding cheeses later. Who could ask for more?
*Upon further review, the single serving lasagne and other dishes are in a cardboard microwave container, with a plastic film on top! Sorry about that, folks!
I was perusing the inter-web thingy came across this article in Yahoo Green about how in Switzerland, local farmers are taking their goods to consumers not through Farmers' Markets, but through vending machines. I started thinking about the vending machine at work known to me as The Wheel of Death- it has pre-made hot dogs, burritos, and muffins as well as pork chop sandwiches you get the picture. This machine could be stocked with better choices like fresh fruit, salads, soups and milk. But no not in my "health conscious" company-a company whose goal to go completely tobacco free, then sets up a manufacturing plant in South Carolina, in the heart of tobacco country, (good luck with that BTW)- Anyway I digress. When I went to Junior High, back in the '70's, there was one vending machine in the school- it dispensed apples. You put a quarter in and out came a nice crisp fresh apple! Nice to see this coming back. Of course, I went to high school and then there where candy machines, pop machines etc. etc., no apples! There are advantages to these vending machines as well- the farmer gets another outlet direct to the consumer, the consumer gets fresh farm products, and no middle man! Hopefully this catches on in the US.
There's alot of talk about Starbucks opening Stealth Starbuck coffee shops in and around Seattle- Nice little community places hiding the Starbucks logo and pretending they are local owned community coffee shops. Well, Starbucks has nothing on Burien press. And maybe one or two things to learn from them!
Just thought you folks would like to see the coffee shop I am always talking about. Burien Press opened in downtown Burien, across from the town square, at 423 SW 152nd Street, in Burien. Originally, the building housed a tatoo parlor! They are an old school espresso/coffee shop featuring Hand made espresso drinks. No Computer Driven machines here, folks. They also feature local made pastries and sandwiches. The atmosphere is real, all hand done by the owner, featuring a cool deck on the back of the building. The furnishings are unique as well, especially the table made of plumbing fittings. Friendly staff, and great magazines, a welcome respite in the heart of my fair city.
The backporch - hours of meditation and quiet in Rob's world!
I was at the Farmer's Market today, and one of my favorite vendors Eat Local, was there and she told me they are opening a store here in Burien! So now when localvores want some take out that's made from local and organic food, they don't have to wait for the Farmers' Market or go to Queen Anne Hill. Eat Local has an impressive menu of tasty things, from Coq au Vin to Buffalo Stew, and cookies to crackers that rival my beloved Ak-Mak. they are opening next month! Can't Wait.
Green Phone Booth Babes- I hear you, and I am looking forward to your Blog Carnival. I am reminded about the post I did a few months ago, Burien Businesses and Community. I discovered the Burien business community, all the way from natural pet food to Crepes! I have always been a believer in buying local. In fact one of the challenges I faced during Crunchy's Pioneer Week was food- I am a big restaurant guy.. nocracks about the "big" part- anyway I feel that when you buy from a local restaurant, you are supporting the local economy and local jobs. There are some great restaurants here in the Burien/Seattle area- Hey Paison! a deli, won the King 5 Best of western Washington "Best Sandwich Shop", and I expect Our local creperie, Crepe It, will do well next year. We have the Natural Pet Pantry, which sells homemade dog food, that I have always been tempted to get out a fork and join the pups in eating the Pantry Stew. It smells so good! We also have the Austrailian Pie company who pack your lunch items in paper as opposed to plastic. And top that off with the Elliot Bay Brewery who make their burgers with organic Black Angus beef raised on Vashon Island. Spent grain from the brewing process is used to make their burger buns.They serve Tony's organic Fair Trade coffee. And beer. And they make their own beer! Yep local is doing well in Burien, Washington. Like my farmer Uncle Russ used to tell me, as he ate supper everyday at The Viking Cafe in Fairdale N.D., you must always support the local bussiness men (and women) as they are the cornerstone to the local economy. Actually he never really said that. But it was an important lesson to me that he never shopped out of his area. Buying Local is not a new concept, but it has been around for awhile!
Eat Local 
